Ian Alden is an associate attorney with Law 4 Small Business, P.C. He is licensed to practice law in New Mexico and, with a Tax LL.M. from Boston University, focuses on tax issues for clients of the firm.

Non-Compete? Not so fast — Why your non-compete could be non-enforceable

October 29, 2021 / by Ian Alden / Document and Contracts / 0 comments

If you’ve ever been an employee — or an employer — then you’ve probably run across a non-compete provision. Formally titled an “Agreement Not to Compete”, these agreements are meant to prohibit employees (or, in rarer cases, independent contractors) from engaging in any activity that might be deemed competitive with their employer. Some non-competes only […]

With a Parent/Child Structure, Which Company Should be Taxed Under Subchapter S?

January 23, 2021 / by Ian Alden / / 0 comments

Question: I’m trying to explain to my CPA how my Anonymous LLC parent/child structure works, and make sure my CPA understands it, especially how I can tax myself under S-Corp status. If the Child LLC is disregarded, how to I pay myself S-Corp salary? It seems like the Parent LLC should be the S-Corp and […]

COVID-19 Public Health Orders: What they mean for your business

November 13, 2020 / by Ian Alden / Business Tips / 0 comments

UPDATE: Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has ordered a two-week shelter-in-place to begin Monday, November 16, 2020. During that time, all non-essential businesses have been ordered to close, other businesses have been ordered to reduce capacity, and restaurants have been restricted to take-out and curbside service only. Click here to view the November 13, 2020 Public […]

What Are The Options To Laying Off Employees During COVID?

August 7, 2020 / by Ian Alden / Employee Management / 0 comments

There are resources available. The key is knowing where to look. As a business owner, you may have heard about the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, which are low-interest loans awarded by the Small Business Administration (SBA) to help cover payroll and some other operational costs. Assuming the loan proceeds are spent properly and other […]

Tax deadlines and COVID-19: Why delaying payments isn’t always a great idea

July 31, 2020 / by Ian Alden / Taxes / 0 comments

As we enter the sixth month of COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns, a few things have become pretty clear: the economy is struggling, and so are taxpayers. Realizing that people — and, especially, small business owners — would need to stretch their money and make it last for some undetermined length of time, legislators across the […]

Understanding Contracts: How do Security Interests work?

May 27, 2020 / by Ian Alden / Document and Contracts / 0 comments

Last Updated: No update. New article. Contracts are at the heart of business. At their simplest, contracts are the formalized agreement between two (or more) parties spelling out what each party is required to do and what benefit they’re expecting to get in return. But what happens when one party doesn’t — or can’t — […]

The “B” Word: How to use Bankruptcy to your advantage

May 15, 2020 / by Ian Alden / Business Support / 0 comments

Last Updated: No update. New article. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues on, more and more people are looking at a solution once thought unthinkable: bankruptcy. While bankruptcy has had a certain stigma attached to it for years, that stigma has lessened considerably in recent years as more people come to understand bankruptcy as a tool […]

A Tax Lawyer Weighs In On COVID-19 Stimulus Payment

May 6, 2020 / by Ian Alden / Taxes / 0 comments

The CARES Act/COVID-19 mean there are new considerations when it comes to taxes this year… Are the $1,200 stimulus checks taxable? Will recipients have to repay that money at some point? Quick answers: The $1,200 payments are technically “advance refundable tax credits”, much like the Affordable Care Act subsidies, and are not taxable as income. […]

Why Purchase Agreements Should Not Be Templates.

March 23, 2020 / by Ian Alden / Document and Contracts / 0 comments

In previous blogs, I’ve talked a bit about why it’s a good idea to have an attorney prepare proper purchase documents – Purchase Agreements, a Bill of Sale, and possibly a Loan Agreement or Promissory Note (depending on how the business purchase will be financed). You could conceivably spend a few thousand dollars on attorneys’ […]

Selling Goods in Different States: South Dakota v Wayfair, Inc

February 24, 2020 / by Ian Alden / Taxes / 0 comments

In the case of South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., the Supreme Court of the United States allowed the State of South Dakota, under a law it had passed, to require Wayfair (a popular online sales company) to collect and pay South Dakota sales tax even though Wayfair had no “economic nexus” to the state of […]

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